ai4bharat/Pralekha huggingface dataset:
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
India’s Active Caseload continues to decline, stands at 2.83 lakh today
Less than 30K daily cases continuously since past 11 days
Daily Fatalities less than 400 for the past 12 days
The ongoing trend of contraction of India’s total active cases continues. The active caseload of the country stands at 2,83,849 today. The share of Active Cases in the total Positive Cases has further shrunk to 2.80%.
A net decline of 5,391 cases from the total active caseload was registered in the last 24 hours.
Daily recoveries have outnumbered the daily new cases since nearly a month . In the last 24 hours, only 24,712 persons were found to be COVID positive in the country. During the same period, 29,791 new recoveries were registered ensuring drop in the Active Caseload.
India has recorded less than 30,000 daily new cases continuously since the last 11 days.
Total Recoveries are nearing 97 lakhs . The Recovery Rate has also increased to 95.75%.
79.56% of the new recovered cases are observed to be concentrated in 10 States/UTs.
Maharashtra has reported the maximum number of single day recoveries with 7,620 newly recovered cases. 4,808 people recovered in Kerala in the past 24 hours followed by 2,153 inWest Bengal.
76.48% of the new cases are from 10 States and UTs.
Kerala continues to report the highest daily new cases at 6,169. It is followed by Maharashtra and West Bengal with 3,913 and 1,628 new cases, respectively.
312case fatalities have been reported in the past 24 hours.
Ten States/UTs account for 79.81% of new deaths. Maharashtra saw the maximum casualties .West Bengal and Kerala follow with 34 and 22 daily deaths, respectively.
Daily deaths in India are on a sustained decline. Less than 400 daily deaths have been registered for the last 12 days.
Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways
Cabinet approves proposal forenactment of Recycling of Ships Bill, 2019 and accession to the Hong Kong International Convention for Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships, 2009.
The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the proposal for enactment of Recycling of Ships Bill, 2019 and accession to the Hong Kong International Convention for Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships, 2009.
Benefits:
- The proposed Bill restricts and prohibits the use or installation of hazardous material, which applies irrespective of whether a ship is meant for recycling or not. For new ships, such restriction or prohibition on use of hazardous material will be immediate, that is, from the date the legislation comes into force, while existing ships shall have a period of five years for compliance. Restriction or prohibition on use of hazardous material would not be applied to warships and non-commercial ships operated by Government. Ships shall be surveyed and certified on the inventory of hazardous material used in ships.
- Under the Bill, ship recycling facilities are required to be authorized and ships shall be recycled only in such authorized ship recycling facilities.
- The Bill also provides that ships shall be recycled in accordance with a ship-specific recycling plan. Ships to be recycled in India shall be required to obtain a Ready for Recycling Certificate in accordance with the HKC
Salient features:
- The Government of India has decided to enact a Bill, namely Recycling of Ships Bill, 2019, to provide for the regulation of recycling of ships by setting certain international standards and laying down the statutory mechanism for enforcement of such standards.
- It has also been decided to accede to the Hong Kong International Convention for Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships, 2009.
- When the Hong Kong International Convention for Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships, 2009 comes into force, its provisions will be implemented under the provisions of the Recycling of Ships Bill, 2019 and rules and regulations framed there under.
Background:
- India is the leader in the global ship recycling industry, with a share of over 30% of the market. As per UNCTAD report on Review of Maritime Transport, 2018, India had demolished 6323 tonnes in 2017, of known ship scrapping across the world.
- The ship-recycling industry is a labour-intensive sector, but it is susceptible to concerns on environmental safety.
Ministry of Commerce & Industry
First Consignment of Indian Rice Ready to be Shipped to China
The first consignment of non-basmati rice  of 100 tonnes is to be shipped to China from Nagpur tomorrow. The consignment will be received by China National Cereals, Oils and Foodstuffs Corporation  which is one of China's state-owned food processing holding companies. After concerted efforts of the Government of India, 19 rice mills and processing units have been registered for export of non-basmati rice from India to China.
The protocol between General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China and the Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare of the Republic of India on phyto-sanitary requirements for exporting rice from India to China was signed on June 9, 2018 at Qingdao, China, during the visit of the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. This amended the earlier protocol on phyto-sanitary requirements for exporting rice from India to China to include the export of non-basmati varieties of rice from India.
Ministry of Finance
H.E. Dr. Thani Bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, United Arab Emirates, calls on Union Finance Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman
H.E. Dr. Thani Bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, United Arab Emirates, here today called on Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, Union Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister. Both sides discussed the strong economic and commercial engagement between the India-UAE and the comprehensive strategic partnership which is driving the multifaceted bilateral relations.
H.E. Dr. Thani Bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi and a high-level UAE delegation are in New Delhi to hold talks aimed at improving bilateral economic relations, including expanding the existing trade and investment relationship. The first round of Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement  negotiations is underway.
The regular exchange of high-level bilateral visits even during COVID-19 pandemic reflects close friendship between the two countries.
Special Service and Features
Gold worth Rs. 24 lakhs seized by Chennai Air Customs.
OnSaturday night one RawtherNaina Mohamed,38,of SP Pattinam who arrived from Dubai by Air India Express FlightIX-1644 was intercepted at exit. On persistent questioning, the pax confessed to be carrying gold paste bundles concealed in rectum. On his personal search, 2bundles of gold in paste form were recovered from rectum from which 179gms of gold was recovered after extraction and two gold bits weighing 50 grams were recovered from his pant pocket. Total 229grams of gold valued at Rs. 12 lakhs was recovered and seized.
In another case earlier oneAbdul Kadar Jailani, 34, of Madurai who arrived from Dubai by Air India Flight AI 906 was intercepted at exit. On his personal search two bundles of gold paste was concealed in rectumwere recovered.Total 228 grams of gold valued was extracted from gold pastevalued at Rs. 11.96 lakhs was recovered and seized under Customs Act
Total 457 grams of gold worth Rs. 23.96 lakhs was recovered and seized under Customs Act.
This is stated in a press release issued by the Commissioner of Customs, Chennai International Airport.
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Prime Minister's Office
Union Minister of State for Minority Affairs, Shri John Barla shares Prime Minister’s participation in various occasion of many festivals
Union Minister of State for Minority Affairs, Shri John Barla has shared Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi’s participation in various occasion of many festivals. Union Minister shared glimpses of Prime Minister’s participation in various festivals like PM Modi’s participation in Tamil New Year programme at Union Minister of State, Dr. L. Murugan’s residence, Easter celebrations at Sacred Heart Cathedral Delhi, participation in Ganesh Utsav at residence of Union Minister, Shri Piyush Goyal, participation in Bihu Celebration at Assam Chief Minister, Shri Sarbananda Sonowal’s residence and many more.
Responding to the tweet thread by Union Minister of State for Minority Affairs, the Prime Minister said;
“India’s cultural vibrancy and diversity makes us stronger. It is a matter of great joy to be among people and celebrate aspects of their unique heritage.”
Ministry of Communications
Postal Department takes action in Odisha Fraud Cases
Claims of affected people would be settled within 30 days: Postal Secretary Shri Vineet Pandey
Departmental Investigation has already been completed in Lachipeta Post office case
“There will be no compromise on public trust in Postal System and the system will be continuously strengthened to avert the cases of corruption and fraud”, said, Shri Vineet Pandey, Secretary, Department of Posts, Ministry of Communications, here today. Speaking at a press conference, Shri Vineet Pandey, informed about the pro-active action of the department in dealing with the fraud cases which surfaced recently in Odisha. Shri Vinaya Prakash Singh, Sr. DDG  & Chief Vigilance officer and other senior officials of Department of Posts attended the conference. Shri Suvendu Swain, Chief Postmaster General, Odisha joined the conference from Odisha virtually.
During the visit to Koraput on 21st August, 2021, three fraud cases of Lachipeta, Malkangiri Colony and Bhejangiwada Post Offices of Koraput Division were brought to the notice of Minister of Communications, Information Technology and Railways, Shri AshwaniVaishnaw by the members of public and the media.
Shri Pandey informed that taken together an amount of Rs. 2.44 crores is involved in all these cases. All the concerned Postmasters have already been placed under suspension. The frauds at Lachipeta and Malkangiri Colony Post Offices committed by Shri BiswanathPodiami have been reported to Central Bureau of Investigation , who have registered FIR against him. Shri Mana Pujari, Branch Postmaster of Bhejangiwada BO has been arrested by the police and booked under Sections 408, 409, 420, 468, 471 and 473 of IPC. CBI and police authorities have been asked to complete their investigation quickly. Directions have been issued for attachment of the properties of the main accused and their family members.
Departmental Investigation has already been completed in Lachipeta Post office. Preliminary investigations in other two cases have been completed by the Department and detailed investigation is in progress and would be completed within one month. Major penalty proceedings are being initiated against the primary offenders. Strict action would be taken against all others whose laxity has facilitated these frauds.
Action has been initiated to obtain the claims from the affected members of public, for which the Chief Postmaster General of Odisha has already issued a press note. All genuine claims would be settled within 30 days in accordance with Standard Operating Procedure issued by the Department of Posts, New Delhi on 27th May, 2021. The affected depositors can also download the form for submitting their claims from the link https://utilities.cept.gov.in//dop/pdfbind.ashx?id=5602.
Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment
OBC representation against total appointment through direct recruitment consistently above 27% during 2014-2021.
Schedule Tribe female enrolment in universities and colleges register 63.4 percentage increase in 2020-21 as compared to 2014-15.
As per information received from the concerned Departments, the table showing the representation of SC/ST/OBC in Central Government since 2014-2021 is at Annexure-I and the table showing social group wise enrollment in Higher Education since 2014-15 is at Annexure-II. It is seen that the representation of OBC against total appointment made through direct recruitment has been consistently above 27% during this period and the enrollment of OBCs in Higher Educational Institutions has been consistently increasing since 2014-15.
There is no proposal to review the existing reservation scheme.
ANNEXURE-I
Representation of SC/ST/OBC 
|
|
Calendar year
|
|
Total appointment made through direct recruitment
|
|
Total appointment made through promotion
|
|
Total appointment made through direct recruitment and promotion taken together
|
|
Category-wise appointment made through direct recruitment
|
|
Category-wise appointment made through promotion
|
|
Category-wise appointment made through direct recruitment and promotion taken together
|
|
Representation of SC against total appointment made through direct rectt and promotion 
|
|
Representation of ST against total appointment made through direct rectt and promotion 
|
|
Representation of OBC against total appointment made through direct rectt 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
SC
|
|
ST
|
|
OBC
|
|
SC
|
|
ST
|
|
SC
|
|
ST
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2014
|
|
128629
|
|
173363
|
|
301992
|
|
21673
|
|
10843
|
|
40513
|
|
32599
|
|
14112
|
|
54272
|
|
24955
|
|
17.97
|
|
8.26
|
|
31.50
|
|
2015
|
|
118740
|
|
216932
|
|
335672
|
|
20407
|
|
10927
|
|
38208
|
|
44356
|
|
19481
|
|
64763
|
|
30408
|
|
19.29
|
|
9.06
|
|
32.18
|
|
2016
|
|
89557
|
|
138202
|
|
227759
|
|
15348
|
|
7208
|
|
27970
|
|
24344
|
|
10841
|
|
39692
|
|
18049
|
|
17.43
|
|
7.92
|
|
31.23
|
|
2017
|
|
115134
|
|
167925
|
|
283059
|
|
18476
|
|
10693
|
|
36167
|
|
28369
|
|
12426
|
|
46845
|
|
23119
|
|
16.55
|
|
8.17
|
|
31.41
|
|
2018
|
|
72193
|
|
181576
|
|
253769
|
|
11173
|
|
6695
|
|
24920
|
|
32264
|
|
15011
|
|
43437
|
|
21706
|
|
17.12
|
|
8.55
|
|
34.52
|
|
2019
|
|
100087
|
|
179999
|
|
280086
|
|
16989
|
|
8081
|
|
31441
|
|
34892
|
|
16043
|
|
51881
|
|
24124
|
|
18.52
|
|
8.61
|
|
31.41
|
|
2020
|
|
69756
|
|
131846
|
|
201602
|
|
10595
|
|
4991
|
|
20376
|
|
24030
|
|
10515
|
|
34625
|
|
15506
|
|
17.17
|
|
7.69
|
|
29.21
|
|
2021
|
|
64073
|
|
140908
|
|
204981
|
|
10200
|
|
4573
|
|
19660
|
|
24794
|
|
10938
|
|
34994
|
|
15511
|
|
17.07
|
|
7.57
|
|
30.68
Ministry of Finance
Various relief measures for several sectors to fight COVID-19 pandemic
The Government has announced various relief measures for several sectors including health infrastructure under the Atmanirbhar Bharat Packages announced on 13th May, 2020 to 17th May, 2020, 12th October, 2020 & 12th November, 2021 involving a total amount of Rs. 29,87,641 crore . This was stated by Minister of State for Finance Shri Pankaj Chaudhary in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today.
The Minister stated that besides the above Packages, Rs 6.28 lakh crore COVID relief package has also been announced on 28.06.2021. The details of the measures are at Annexure. These measures will provide necessary impetus to the existing projects and help in boosting the economy, the Minister stated.
Special Service and Features
National Conference to Promote National Education Policy 2020
National Institute of Open Schooling  is organizing National Conference for State Open Schools under the guidance of its Chairperson Prof. Saroj Sharma ji on 22-23 December, 2022 at Vivekanand Kendra, Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu and will be a milestone in the implementation of National Education Policy-2020. NIOS is an autonomous institution under Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education, Government of India. It is world’s largest open schooling system which works extensively to provide educational opportunities to marginalise.
On this occasion, Hon’ble Dr. Kiran Bedi, Former Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry will be the Chief Guest and Sh. Laxminarayan Panigrahy, Head, Eastern Region, Vivekananda Kendra, Sh. M. Arvind, IAS, District Collector, Kanyakumari, Dr. V. Theiva Prakash, Independent Director, Food Corporation of India, Sh. Bhanudas Dhakras, General Secretary, Vivekananda Kendra will be the Guests of Honour of the inaugural session. All HODs of NIOS and officers, Chairman and representatives of various State Open Schools of the country, Media Persons and Officers of NIOS Regional Centre, Chennai will participate in the programme.
Expansion of Open and Distance Learning, effective coordination between NIOS and State Open Schools, strengthening of established SOS and capacity development of their personnel, guiding to establish new SOS, quality assurance in Open School Education and planning for resource sharing and effective coordination etc are the main objectives of this National Conference. It will give an opportunity to spread the light of education across the country and also help to mainstream the children who are out of school and dropouts.
These two days will also give a platform for significant deliberations on the implementation of National Education Policy – 2020 and will have a multi dimensional impact.
Ministry of Finance
Exchange Rate Notification No. 106/2020 - Customs 
In exercise of the powers conferred by section 14 of the Customs Act, 1962 , the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs hereby makes the following amendment in the Notification of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs No.105/2020-CUSTOMS , dated 5th November, 2020 with effect from 13th November, 2020, namely: -
In the SCHEDULE-I of the said Notification, for serial No. 18 and the entries relating thereto, the following shall be substituted, namely: -
SCHEDULE-I
|
|
Sl.No.
|
|
Foreign Currency
|
|
Rate of exchange of one unit of foreign currency equivalent to Indian rupees
|
|

|
|

|
|

|
|
|
|
|
|

|
|

|
|
|
|
|
|

|
|

|
|
18.
|
|
Turkish Lira
|
|
9.80
|
|
9.25
|
||
||
||
||
|
Ministry of Education
Union Minister of Education addresses at the Annual Convocation of IIM Rohtak
Union Minister of Education Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’virtually addressed the annual Convocation of IIM Rohtak today. A total of 480 students from MBA programme and 12 students from doctoral program attended the convocation ceremony.
Shri Pokhriyal congratulated the graduating students for their success. He encouraged the students to work hard and contribute to thenation, and society at large. The Minister urged the students to use their talent in the best possible manner and contribute meaningfully in realizing India@75 mission and wished them all the best for their future endeavors.
The Minister congratulated IIM for doing exceptionally well in improving gender and academic diversity in its students population. The efforts of the institute in this direction will help in realizing Prime Minister’s vision of “Beti Bachao and Beti Padhao” mission, he added. Shri Pokhriyal congratulated IIM Rohtak for opening up a new campus in Gurugram, new programs and empowering women in management education in last few years and appreciated its efforts in providing impetus to research and policy work.
Shri Pokhriyal stated that government in the last few years has increased the number of IIMs, IITs, and Central Universities to provide greater opportunities for the youth to get high quality education. He mentioned that Indian educational institutions are improving their position in world rankings and IIM Rohtak has also improved in educational rankings.
Five Year Integrated Programme in Law , will be offered by the institute this year. IIM Rohtak is the first and only IIM to have started this programme.
Ministry of Railways
Indian Railways getting ready to provide medical support to National efforts in fighting COVID 19 in a big way
Coaches being modified as Isolation coaches to be available for contingency; 5000 coaches being planned initially
More than 6500 hospital beds of Railways to be made available as prescribed medical specifications
Railways to supplement the efforts of Government in tackling COVID-19
In In order to prevent the spread of COVID 19, Indian Railways is making an all out effort to supplement the health care efforts of Government of India. The spectrum of steps include modification of passenger coaches as isolation coaches, equipping the existing Railway Hospitals to meet the COVID needs, earmarking of hospital beds to meet the contingencies, recruitment of additional doctors & paramedics etc.
All these facilities will be made available as mandated by the Government of India to those in need.The preparations are being done across all the zones under the supervision GMs and Medical professionals of Indian Railways.
Indian Railways is planning to initially modify 5000 passenger coaches to meet the requirement of any possible exigency of keeping some corona patients in isolation as and when required by Government. These coaches would be equipped with basic facilities needed for isolation as per medical guidelines. In case need be, more coaches can be modified. Coaches are also going to be equipped with mosquito nets,charging points for mobiles & laptop, space for paramedics etc. These coaches would be prepared zone wise.
Railways has 125 hospitals in India and of that more than 70 are being planned to be kept ready to be for any contingency as and when required. Efforts are being made to designate dedicated COVID wards or floors in these hospitals. Approximately 6500 hospital beds are being made ready to meet the possible needs of patients.
Indian Railways has already given a go ahead to Zonal heads to explore the possibility of hiring doctors and paramedics from the market and also to re-employ retired railway doctors as a temporary measure to meet the increased requirement of medical supervision and assist the authorities in charge of COVID 19 control management in the region.
It may be noted that these efforts of Indian Railways have been mounted not only to supplement the efforts of the Government of Indiabut also to contribute to the national efforts to fight the Corana Virus.
Ministry of Commerce & Industry
36 Hour Smart India Hackathon 2019 Grand Finale
Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade , Ministry of Commerce & Industry, today announced that the Smart India Hackathon  2019 – Software edition, Grand Finale is to be held on March 2 & 3, 2019 at 49 different centerssimultaneouslyacross India where more than 34,000 ideas will be evaluated.
Launched on Aug 29, 2018 in New Delhi, Smart India Hackathon 2019, harnesses creativity and expertise of students, builds funnel for ‘Startup India’ campaign, crowd sources solutions for improving governance and quality of life, and provides opportunity to citizens including students to provide innovative solutions to India’s problems.
Details of Hackathon 2019 are as follows:
|
|
|
|
Software
Problems Statements proposed
|
|
Shortlisted
Teams for Grand Finale
|
|
No. of Youngsters competing in Grand Finale
|
|
Nodal Center for Grand Finale
|
|
DPIIT
|
|
8
|
|
32
|
|
256
|
|
IIT Kanpur
All India Council for Technical Education  under the Ministry of Human Resource Development  and in collaboration with MIC, i4c and Persistent Systems is organizing SIH 2019. With 96 industries and 18 Central Government Ministries andDepartments, SIH2019 is much bigger than its previous editions. It includes 2 sub-editions – Software edition, which is a 36-hr software product development competition to be held on Mar 2 - 3, 2019. The Hardware edition, involving building of hardware solutions will be held later this year.
During the software edition grand finale, teams of thousands of technology students will build innovative digital solutions for problems posed by different industries and Central Ministriesand Departments.
Ministry of Defence
DEFENCE FORCE PERSONNEL AFFECTED BY COVID-19
The details of COVID-19 positive cases in the Armed Forces are as under:
|
|
|
|
No. of positive cases
|
|
Fatality rate
|
|
Army
|
|
32690
|
|
0.24%
|
|
Navy
|
|
3604
|
|
0.05%
|
|
Air Force
|
|
6554
|
|
0.39%
As per extant Rules, no special compensation for deaths occurring due to infectious disease is provided to armed force personnel, while they are in service. However, all such cases of death while in service are provided terminal benefits.
This information was tabled in a written reply by Raksha Rajya Mantri Shri Shripad Naik to a question asked by Shri Sanjay Singh in Rajya Sabha today.
ABB/Nampi/KA/DK/Savvy
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